ATOMIC

E is for Electricity-By Siobhan Fairgreaves Last time, in D for Detectors, we looked at some of the applications of physics that you might encounter during your day. In this post, we’re going to find out more about something I can guarantee you…

C is for Collider-By Siobhan Fairgreaves In this post, we will learn a little more about the world’s largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Do you remember a few years ago when there was a lot of fuss about a black hole…

A is for Atom-By Siobhan Fairgreaves Never trust an atom- they make up everything! Terrible jokes are finished, for now… In this post, we will look at the basic structure of the atom. But first, what are atoms? Atoms are the building…

U is for Ununoctium and the Island of Stability-Quick, without looking it up: how many elements are there on the periodic table? If I had asked that question before the first hydrogen bomb exploded in 1952, the answer would have been 98. In that year, humans succeeded in…

O is for Ocean Acidification-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh We all know that CO2 emissions are warming the planet. Or at least, most of us do. What often goes unreported is the effect of carbon dioxide on the worlds’ oceans. A lot of the CO2 that…

H is for Helium-By Jonathan Farrow from The Thoughtful Pharaoh Say goodbye to foil floating hearts on Valentines, shimmering floating shamrocks on St. Patty’s, and the prospect of tying thousands of balloons to your house and abducting a neighbourhood boy scout. The world’s Helium reserve…

G is for Gravity Waves-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh Deep in Antarctica, right on top of the geographic South Pole, there is a research station that peers back in time to the very beginning of our universe. Named the Amundsen-Scott Station, it…

F is for Faraday-By Jonathan Farrow from The Thoughtful Pharoah The year is 1791. On a crisp autumn morning in South London, Margaret Hastwell, a blackmith’s apprentice, gives birth to her third son. With her husband, son, and daughter crowded around, she decides to…